The application to transfer oil facility permits from ExxonMobil to Sable Offshore Corp. wasn’t approved Tuesday after the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors was split with a 2-2 vote and took no action.
The focus of the discussion was whether to approve the transfer of permits that previously belonged to ExxonMobil.
Sable took over ownership of the Santa Ynez Unit, which includes three offshore platforms, processing facilities and transportation pipelines. The company wants to restart operations of the system, which has been shut down since one of the pipelines ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The meeting room at the County Administration Building was packed with Sable supporters as well as environmental groups who opposed the permit transfers, and dozens of people were directed to overflow rooms.
Supervisors Roy Lee and Laura Capps supported the appeals and wanted to deny the permit transfers, and Supervisors Bob Nelson and Steve Lavagnino wanted to deny the appeals and approve the transfers.
The board voted 2-2 on the transfer, which means no action was taken and the transfers were not approved. Action would have required a majority vote of at least three supervisors, according to the county counsel.
Supervisor Joan Hartmann recused herself from the discussion and vote because of a conflict of interest since the pipeline crosses into her residential property.
Board Deliberations
At Tuesday’s hearing, the supervisors voted on the transfer after hearing about four hours of public comment from a crowd who packed the hearing room and the overflow room.
During public comment, about 125 people signed up to speak in person. More people watched the meeting online and called in.
In deliberations, Lavagnino and Nelson stated their support for the transfer.
Lavagnino said he understood why people were opposed to the transfer and that an oil spill is one of the most traumatic things a community can experience.
However, he added that it was the board’s job to interpret the ordinances as written and that he didn’t see any legal reason to vote against the transfer.
Nelson said he believed the topic had become politicized and called the protest against Sable “political theater.”
As the newest member of the board, Lee said he could not support the transfer. Of restarting the pipeline, he said: “To me that’s an insane idea. That’s a bad idea.”
Capps said it wasn’t fair that the community didn’t have the opportunity to weigh in on the topic. State and federal agencies, including the Office of the State Fire Marshal, have authority over pipeline operations and restart plans.
“I do get the tension of what we’re being asked to do, but I do feel I was elected to look at the big picture and extrapolate of what we’re actually doing here,” Capps said. “And I cannot in good faith say that this transfer gives me reassurance of fiscal stability.”
Sable Supporters, Opponents Make Voices Heard
Before the meeting started, a protest was held on the front steps of the Administration Building. About 80 people gathered on the steps with signs opposing Sable, asking for an end to drilling and for a stop to the transfer.
The county Planning Commission approved the permit transfer to Sable in October, which was appealed by local environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Center and the Center for Biological Diversity.
In their presentation to the supervisors, representatives for those groups focused on the risk of another oil spill and claimed that Sable was not financially secure enough to pay for damages if the pipeline were to leak again.
EDC attorney Jeremy Frankel argued that Sable also lacks the finances to abandon the unit properly if it never receives the clearance to restart the pipeline.
Steve Rusch, Sable’s vice president of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, defended the company and said it was working to deliver world-class safety and quality.
“We know everyone is worried about the spill. It’s been talked about today and forever. We’re going above and beyond. We’re waiting for requirements to ensure that does not happen again,” Rusch said.
Public comment ranged from pleas to stop the transfer for the sake of the local environment and defenses of Sable and the jobs that it can offer.
Environmentalists referenced the Refugio oil spill, which leaked 142,000 gallons of crude oil onto the shoreline and into the ocean.
They also questioned whether Sable, a new company and new owner of the facilities, had the experience needed to operate the facility and keep the South Coast safe.
One of the speakers against the transfer was Alhan Diaz-Correa, the Senior climate projects associate for the Community Environmental Council and a Santa Barbara County Action Network member.
“Protecting our coast, climate and community must be the priority, not providing a dying industry with a history of environmental and financial failures,” Diaz-Correa said.
Other speakers, some wearing Sable hats and uniforms, defended the company and the steps the company has taken to be safe.
Juan Solas told the board that he had more than 30 years in the oil industry and that his job helps pay for his son’s tuition.
“Sable helps all of us not be dependent on foreign oil. They will also provide jobs and income for the county,” Solas said.
After the 2-2 vote, Frankel said the EDC was grateful for the Board of Supervisors’ decision.
“I think the county recognized that this company comes with extreme risk, that they don’t have the financial wherewithal to respond to a spill, to abandon these facilities, and that they don’t have the capacity to operate responsibly,” Frankel said.
“I’m really relieved the county decided against approving the transfer of permits for an operation that might result in another disastrous oil spill,” Brady Bradshaw of the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement after the meeting. “A massive group of Santa Barbarans made it clear that they expect strong leadership and careful decision-making from the county, and fortunately, the supervisors avoided a bad decision.”
